1 Week in Portugal: Day 6 (Lisbon)

For the last two days of our trip, we stayed in Lisbon and did a lot of walking. On this particular day, I think we hit 33,000 steps, or roughly 13 miles and you should also keep in mind that Lisbon is pretty hilly so we were getting the added workout of climbing cobbled sidewalks and sliding back down them.

We ended up exploring a bunch of churches in the morning and then a gorgeous garden in the afternoon. Oh, and we had the best and cheapest lunch ever.

CENTRO COMERCIAL DA MOURARIA
After breakfast, we headed towards this shopping center because I'd read that there was an African spice store where they sold piri piri in bulk. Unfortunately, all we encountered were a bunch of Chinese-run stores with cheap clothes and random merchandise.

MIRADOURO SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER ANDRESEN
On our way to this viewpoint, we saw a little balcony about halfway up so we stopped there for a breather. The views from here were decent and it was much quieter so it's a nice place for a selfie if you want to grab one without a million tourists walking by.

IGREJA DA SÃO VICENTE DE FORA

This beautiful church is worth visiting. The interior is quite spectacular but the standout for me was the adjacent courtyard with its beautiful bougainvillea, orange trees, and hibiscus.

PANTEÃO NACIONAL

We admired this place from the outside because we didn't want to pay the entrance fee. But from what I've seen online, it's pretty spectacular inside so I think it could be worthwhile.

SÉ DE LISBOA

The Lisbon Cathedral is reminiscent of Notre Dame with its two towers and the circle of stained glass in the center.

It's free to go inside and it's beautiful. There's stained glass everywhere and it is gorgeous.

 

O TREVO
We came here for lunch at Anthony Bourdain's recommendation.

This place is known for a greasy pork sandwich, known as a 'bifana' and if you don't eat here, you're making a big mistake. (I apologize to anyone who keeps kosher.) Basically, it's just a slab of fatty pork on a Portuguese roll and you are encouraged to slather on cheap mustard and lots of piri piri oil. It's incredibly simple and delicious.

MERCADA DA RIBEIRA NOVA
After lunch, we headed to the Time Out market to pick up some piri piri peppers to take home as souvenirs.

While we were there, we got a fig with serrano ham to snack on. We couldn't go to the market and not get anything.

We also picked up a bunch more figs and took them back to the Airbnb and made some crostini with queso fresco, arugula, and honey.

After our snack, we hopped on the metro to a spot a bit north.

PARQUE EDUARDO VII

We meandered through this park. It was much cooler in this part of the city so despite being in full sun, we weren't hot.

ESTUFA FRIA

We'd found this place while googling "cool things to do in Lisbon" and ended up loving it. It's a semi-indoor garden with loads of gorgeous plants and it's worth a visit if you've got the time. I wouldn't say that it's one of those must-see sites but it's really pretty and if you like plants and greenery, I think you'll enjoy it. There's normally an entrance fee (I think it's €3) but because it was a national holiday, we weren't charged anything.

AMOREIRAS
After our wander around the garden, we headed out towards the business-y district to a shopping center which boasts the highest panoramic view in the city. It's €5 per person to take the lift to the top.

It was an incredibly gorgeous view. We saw the bridge, Castelo São Jorge, Aguas Frias, and basically every other major landmark.

JARDIM DA ESTRELA

This park was bustling and full of kids hanging out, families having picnics, and grans and grandpas on strolls.

BASILICA DA ESTRELA

This beautiful church is also free to enter and worth a visit. It's pretty extravagant on the inside but there was a sign posted that said "no photos" so I followed the rules and have none to share.

TASCA KOME

For dinner, we went to Tasca Kome which was just a five minute walk from our Airbnb. I wanted to get sushi because the fish in Lisbon was so fresh and I figured it would make great sushi.

We were given an amuse bouche to start. It was just tamago (egg custard), which was simple but yummy.

For drinks, I got the ginger cocktail which was made with homemade ginger ale. It was bright and spicy and refreshing.

We shared a bunch of plates. The first to come out was the tonkatsu, which is deep fried breaded pork cutlet. It was crunchy and familiar.

The kakuni (pork belly) was tender and flavorful. The braising liquid was a sweetened soy and it hit the spot.

We also got a sashimi platter, which was beautiful and tasty.

The chirashi bowl (sashimi on rice) was great. The amount of fish was generous and it was incredibly fresh.

The yakotaki was flavorful and packed with bits of octopus.

For dessert, we shared the chocolate cake, which was rich and delicious but not overly sweet.

After dinner, we decided to relax and have a pamper evening with sheet masks before calling it a night.

Here's my video diary:

xoxo.